Experts predict reduction in global emissions as coronavirus cases increase
14th April 2020 · 0 Comments
By Meghan Holmes
Contributing Writer
As the number of coronavirus cases around the world continues to increase, experts predict that greenhouse gas emissions will decrease globally for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis.
The impact of the virus on emissions could be difficult to measure in the United States, where the Environmental Protection Agency has suspended reporting requirements that typically follow toxic releases at industrial facilities. Advocates and residents of already-burdened communities near refineries and chemical plants worry that these rule changes will increase the likelihood that they contract Coronavirus.
“Black people are dying at a higher rate from the coronavirus, and they say it’s because of underlying health conditions,” said Sharon Lavigne, president of RISE St. James, a group of citizens working to stop petrochemical development near their homes. “Air pollution creates some of those conditions. We already have too much in St. James Parish. There are already 12 plants in a ten mile radius, but Formosa wants to dramatically increase total emissions and these other companies want to get a pass.”
EPA’s top compliance officer, Susan Bodine, issued the new guidelines, allowing companies to monitor themselves during the outbreak and eliminating fines for violations of certain air, water and hazardous-waste-reporting requirements.
“In general, the EPA does not expect to seek penalties for violations of routine compliance monitoring, integrity testing, sampling, laboratory analysis, training, and reporting or certification obligations in situations where the EPA agrees that COVID-19 was the cause of the noncompliance and the entity provides supporting documentation to the EPA upon request,” the order states.
EPA issued the order following requests from businesses for a relaxation of regulations as they face layoffs, personnel restrictions and other problems related to the Coronavirus outbreak. The American Chemistry Council, a trade group representing the industry, released a statement in support of the relaxed rules, which it said “is needed because essential personnel and resources must be devoted to maintaining production and meeting increased demand for vital chemical products such as sanitizers, disinfectants, and plastics for consumers, governments and the health care community.”
The Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Environmental Integrity Project, Public Citizen, Environment Texas, and other environmental groups wrote to the EPA when the ruling, retroactively effective from March 13, was released, asking the organization to provide “a clear explanation of how the coronavirus pandemic made such decisions necessary and what steps facilities will take to reduce their health impacts.”
Anne Rolfes, director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, spoke at a press conference announcing the letter last week in front of Chalmette Refinery, which recently ranked in the top ten in benzene emissions, several times the level deemed safe for human health.
“This industry has a history of misleading the public, and the last thing they need is a blanket exclusion from regulation,” she said. “If they have a problem, they should appeal to the EPA. Business is continuing, permits are being applied for, and they are expanding operations that are certainly not essential. The demand for oil has dramatically decreased with fewer people driving. They should be paying their workers to stay safe at home.”
One car insurance company, American Family, estimated that Americans drove 40 percent fewer miles during the last three weeks of March, and accident claims are down. This temporary reduction in transportation means less greenhouse gas emissions, but the reduction will likely be temporary. Right now, greenhouse gases are on track to drop five percent when compared to last year, according to the Global Carbon Project.
While some businesses around Louisiana have closed, most heavy industry is considered essential and continues to operate.
“Compared with data from the last couple of years, we have not recorded any big changes measured by our ambient air monitoring system or by our ambient water monitoring system during March and early April,” said Gregory Langley, press secretary with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. “Air quality is measured instantaneously and was uniformly good during the month of March. According to LDEQ air experts, some particulate matter readings are down compared to the same period during the past couple of years, but not all. Ozone is unchanged. Heavy industry continues to function much as before, but vehicle traffic is down a good bit. Water quality lags the sampling since it requires lab work, but we do not anticipate any big swings in the numbers. We have not been informed of any reductions in activity at chemical or industrial facilities.”
The EPA’s decision to relax emissions reporting came two weeks before the release of a new Harvard study, which found that higher levels of the tiny, dangerous particles in air known as PM 2.5 were associated with higher death rates from the coronavirus. The first clear link between pollution exposure and death rates, the study analyzed 3,080 counties in the United States.
“Where I live, I can see dust floating in the air from the other side of the river, where there’s a grain mill,” Lavigne said. “In the morning we can see it on our cars. Formosa’s permit would allow for the release of more particulate matter. We are calling on our elected officials to say no to Formosa, and save our lives. People here are in quarantine, or in hospitals, and some are dying. How could you continue polluting people when we are already suffering in this environment?”
This article originally published in the April 13, 2020 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
